Ministerial communique to be released
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 24: The third G20 Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting to be held in Srinagar from May 22-24 will be a significant one as the ministerial communique that will be issued after the last TWG meeting in Goa will be finalised there which will be called ‘Goa Declaration’.
Official sources said two Tourism Working Group meetings have taken place so far. The first one in the Rann of Kutch, followed by the second one in Siliguri. The third Tourism Working Group meeting will take place next month in Srinagar, from May 22 to 24.
The TWG meeting in Jammu and Kashmir will be an important one, because there “we will finalise the Goa declaration”, which will be the Ministerial communique that will emerge from the G20 discussions, the officials said.
“We are hopeful that the G20 Tourism Ministers’ conference in Goa due later this year will focus on sustainable tourism to support the environment and create opportunities for local businesses,” sources said.
After the last TWG meet in Srinagar, the Ministerial meet will take place in Goa in June.
A roadmap and an action plan for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals and a ministerial communique endorsing it will be released after the last meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group in Goa in June, sources said.
“There will be two key deliverables. At the end of the Working Group meetings and the Ministerial meeting, we are going to declare a Goa Roadmap and Action Plan for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs),” they said.
There are five key priority areas so far as the G20 tourism track meetings are concerned – greening of the tourism sector, harnessing the power of digitalisation, empowering youngsters with skills, nurturing tourism MSMEs, startups and the private sector, and rethinking the strategic management of destinations, officials said.
Sources said out of more than 200 events to be held across the country during its G20 presidency, about 100 have already taken place.
Under India’s G20 presidency, the tourism sector is providing an “unparalleled opportunity” to highlight the country’s tourism offerings and share its success stories on the global stage.
It may be mentioned here that this will be the first major international event that will be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019.
“In Srinagar, the delegates will be taken on a shikara ride in the Dal lake and will also be treated to cultural programmes at the Sher-e-Kashmir Convention Centre. Later, they will go to Gulmarg where they will take a gondola ride,” Singh said.
India is currently chairing the influential bloc and more than 200 meetings will be held across 55 locations, culminating with the annual G20 summit on September 9-10.
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